Telescopic steering column



May 26, 1953 H. v. SNYDER TELESCOPIC STEERING COLUMN 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 13, 1951 INVENTOR flamzd k snyder' ATTORNEYfi May 26, 1953 H. v. SNYDER TELESCOPIC STEERING COLUMN Filed Aug. 13, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENT OR m r O 6 w a A 3A 5 v V. 2 m

Patented May 26, 1953 .IZElaims.

This invention r-elates -to a :new and "improved steering column: for motor *vehicles ;of z'su'ch: construction that the steering wheel may yield-forwardly "in case the driver should be thrown against it due to collision or. the 1ike,:thus cushioning thevblow anmminimizing'.theszdanger of injury.

The column 1 comprises 4 a 1 lower section :"connected with the steering .mechanismiandvhaving a tubularvportion forminga cylinder andan upper section carrying the steering=wheel, the. lower end. portion of said 'upper section being. slidably splined inxsaid cylinder of said lower section.

One object of the invention "is toprovide a spring-pressed ball carried by the cylinder :"of the lower 'coluinnrsecti'on, and;a-coac.tingqsocket in the upper colurnnzsection, :saidlball :zbeing normally seated vr-said v.socket .and yieldab'ly holding said. upper column LiSGCtlDIl '.1in .;its:,.normal operative; position, saidicba'll; howeven'wbeing cammed out :of said :socket. byra. forward blow on the wheel. .As this":movementbfzxithe ball from the socket is: resisted byx'the spring which normally "presses: the; ballc'intol said socket, andfiltial; checking force ion the forward 'rnovement oi thedriveris bodysisuexerted shouldhe be thrown forwardly againstthewheel.

Another object :of .the inventionis to provide such? radial. clearance between the splines of -the upper column t-sectiom and those 'of the -lower column sectionv .as .1 to form passages forallowing Irearward displacement of 1 fluid =-frorn "the cylinder as :.the .upper column :section sli'des forwardly in said cylinder, thus providing an efie'ctiveshock absorberfiten dingto safely dec'elerate the forward movement of the drivers 'body should he be thrown against" 'the whee1. The fluid :is preferably .oil, or comnaon hydraulic brake .or: shock: absorber flu-id, and a receiver is providedto' receive the. fluid rearwardly displaced through the aforesaid passages.

Another object :.is .to provide a- 1 compression spring connected in a novel manner :with: the lower end of the upper. column-.sectioniand:providin for. final shock absorption" when said upper sectionlis forwardly slidto them-aximum in the cylinder of thB IOWEI' SBCtlOD. "Thus, when the aboteementioned ballxand socket I and fiui'd passages, and'the :ccmpression spring,-are s11 embodied r the :same ."column structure, three shock absorbing :actions will successively occur if the driver-shouldtbe thrown against the-wh'eel, thereby. so gradually:increasingathe resistance as to safely decelerate theiforward 'movement 6f the driverswbodyiandi thereforei zgreatly lessening. danger of injury.

55 thecupper endof the cylinder fl. The upper end :To :7 reset 1 the steering ic'olumn after accisdent which :has resulted in forward sliding; of the 'Lupper'csection; this section is simply. pulled rearwardly toi'the; proper extent to again: cause seatin tof ltherspringrpressed ball inithe'socket. A' further r object OfLthB invention, however; is to provide-the upper .column section with: ans-additiona1=and relatively deep socketwhich receives the. ball and: aeoacts :wtih the'latter, impreventing accidental withdrawal 10f: the upperrasection completely. from the-lower;- sectionwduring resetting.

A still further object OfithQ: inventionuisato provide a cam-:at. therrear;=siderofthelaforesaid deep-sockemwhich cam-forcesthetxballfrom zthis socket .uponrorwardly; forcingpthe.uppericolmnn sectionithus allowing reepositioninggof said upper section with the steering wheel-Ethel desired .adistance" from thedriver.

With .the-abovevand other objects in'view: that will become apparent. as. the natureof theztinvention :is:.better= understood, .the :same consists in the novel form,rcombinationrand arrangement of parts hereinafiter'zmorei:fully described; shown in rthewiaccompanying :drawings, and claimed.

1 In the: drawings,

liig; lais; axsideelevationxof theiinventionzoperatively related with xtax.'steeringi wheelaandtthe gear casingof a steering mechanism,

.:l3lig. =2 is an enlarged :longitudinal sectional View, partlyt'in relevation. the; upper column section. being-setsin positiorrfonuse,

.Figs./. 3% :.anda.4.are.: further:enlarged-transverse sectional Viewsh.0n;1inesl3*3 ands-4' of 'Figaz,

.f-Fig.::5 is; wriewrsimilarato Fig. 12 1 but showing thezupperrcolumnzsection telescopedto the maximum: with the-flower section; and

; Elgar. fisi isanienlargedi fragmentary section, .-part lyfxin elevation, .zshowing the :manner in which the-spring pressed balli prohibits complete accidental withdrawal oiuthe "upper column section fromthelower-section.

, A.:..;preferred. construction has been '--'shown in the drawings and will loerather-specificallydescribed, but:attentionris-invited to the possibility oft-making variations within the scopeof the invention as'claimed.

.The lower steering column section l is operatively connectedat its lower end with conventional 1' gearing of a steering -mechanism,"a portion of the-casing of the latter being-shownat B's-in Fig- 1. "This lower section 1 includes a tubular portion-or-cylindere and'a somewhat larger tubular fluid receiver I 0, the" lower" end of thisc reservoi-r being in communication-with of the receiver I is provided with a sealing means ll retained in position by the set screw plu l2, and the lower end of the cylinder 9 has a drain plug I3. The receiver l0, cylinder 9 and lower end portion of the column section 1, may well be formed from separate units welded together as indicated at M.

Internally, the cylinder 9 is formed with splines l extending throughout its length. Externally, said cylinder is provided with a boss l6 near its upper end, said boss having a bore disposed radially of said cylinder. The inner end of this bore I1 is occupied by a steel ball l8, a plug I9 is threaded into the outer end of said bore, and a compression spring 20 occupies said bore between said ball and plug. The lower section 1 is charged with fluid through the bore ll upon removal of the plug I9, normally to the level of the base.

The upper section 2| of the column is in the form of a one-piece shaft having a steering wheel 22 at its upper end. This section 2| extends through the seal ll, through the receiver l0 and into the upper portion of the cylinder 9, and said section 2| is provided with splines 23. These splines 23 mesh with and engage the splines l5 of the cylinder 9 and the two sets of splines operatively connect the two column sections so that no relative radial or circumferential movements of said column sections can occur, but the upper section 2| may slide within the cylinder 9 of the lower section I.

The splines of one set, are of slightly less radial width than the splines of the other set. to provide fluid passages 24 between the splineconnected portions of the column sections, as seen more particularly in Fig. 3. These passages 24 establish restricted communication between the receiver I0 and the portion of the cylinder 9 below the lower end of the upper column section 2|. This cylinder portion contains a suitable fluid 25 which is displaced through the passages 24 into the receiver II) when the upper section 2| of the column is forced forwardly, in case the driver should be thrown forwardly against the wheel 22. An effective shock absorbing action is thus obtained.

One of the splines 23 is formed with a plurality of longitudinally spaced shallow sockets 26 for coaction with the spring-pressed ball I8. The ball and sockets thus allow vertical adjustment of the upper column section 2| to most conveniently position the steering wheel 22. Moreover, in order for the section 2| to'slide forwardly, the ball I8 must be cammed from the coacting socket against the action 'of the spring 29 and an initial shock absorbing action is thus produced, followed by further shock absorption due to forcing of the fluid 25 through the passages 24 into the receiver Ill. The depth of each socket 26 is less than half the diameter of the ball I8 and is preferably about one-third of the diameter of said ball.

A final shock absorbing compression spring 21 is carried by the lower end of the upper column section 2| to strike the lower end of the cylinder 9. This spring is suitably secured at its rear extremity in a forwardly open socket 28 in the column section 2| and normally projects from this section as seen in Fig. 2.

Near the lower extremity of the column section 2|, a relatively deep socket 29 is formed in one of the splines 23 to receive the ball l8, as shown in Fig. 6, if said column section 2| should be pulled back too far when resetting it. This socket 29 is of a depth to receive more than half the diameter of the ball l8, preferably about tWo-thirds of said diameter. Therefore, after the ball has entered the socket it cannot be cammed out of said socket by rearward force exerted on the column section 2| The ball and socket thus coact to prevent ac cidental withdrawal of the upper column section 2| completely from the lower section. At the rear side of the socket 29, however, there is a cam 30 extending to the socket bottom and effective to force the ball l8 from said socket when the column section 2| is forced forwardly from the position of Fig. 6. Thus, the section 2| may be again set in the desired position.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that three shock absorbing actions will successively take place if an accident should occur, resulting in the driver being thrown forwardly against the steering wheel. The first is due to the camming of the ball I8 out of the socket 26 against the action of the spring 20; the second is due to displacement of the fluid 25 through the passages 24; and the third is due to compression of the spring 21. These three actions serve to produce a stage effect with respect to the yieldability of the steering column downwardly. The first stage is present when the steering assembly is under normal conditions with ball 26 retaining the column against yielding movement; a light blow on the steering wheel will displace the ball and immediately subject the column to the second or intermediate stage action. The intermediate stage is provided by the oil reserr voir 9, the receiving chamber In and the restricted openings 24 connecting the reservoir and chamber, thereby forming a hydraulic shock absorber designed to absorb the shocks in the usual manner. The rate of yielding movement is decreased in the second stage as compared with the ready movement of the first stage. The range of deceleration of the second stage is indicated by the distance between the end of spring 21 and the upper end of the column 1 in Fig. 2. Within such range, the rate is practically constant since it involves the oil passage through the restricted passages. Ordinarily, this stage will answer the conditions of accident, by absorbing the shocks.

However, it is possible that with serious accident conditions, the driver may be thrown into a draping position over the steering wheel, and thus provide a continuing weight factor which could not be absorbed by and during the intermediate stage and in such case, the rate of yield would continue until the steering column contacted element I, with the possible development of a jarring effect upon the injured driver. The third stage is provided to meet the latter condition, contact of spring 21 with element 1 bringing the spring into action, its compression resistance easing the pressure of the column on the oil and thus gradually slowing and further decreasing the rate of yielding movement, until the column contacts element '|spring 21 would remain inactive excepting under conditions such as this. Therefore, the forward movement of the drivers body is so gradually decelerated that danger of injury is reduced to the minimum. It will also be seen that the column may be readily reset without danger of entirely withdrawing the upper section from the lower section.

From the above detailed description of the invention, it is believed that the construction,

use, and operation thereof will at once be apparent, and while there is herein shown and described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it is nevertheless to be understood that minor changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

I claim:

1. A collapsible steering column for vehicles comprising an upper and a lower section associated for relative movement of the upper section axially within and into the lower section in presence of emergency conditions, the range of possible movement being of a definite length, said range length being zonal in type to constitute a stage development of the yielding movement with the stages rendered active successively and operative to provide rates of yielding generally similar within the individual zones with the rate of one zone diiiering from that of an adjacent zone, said rate of yielding being greatest when the column is in normal steering status and being least when the upper section is fully collapsed at the opposite end of such range of movement, the lower section including a hollow casing having a closed lower end with an intermediate zone of its length internally splined, the lower portion forming an oil reservoir and the upper portion forming a receiving chamber for receiving oil transferred from the reservoir, said upper section including a steering column splined longitudinally for cooperation with splines of the lower section, opposing faces of certain of the splines being in spaced relation to form restricted channels for oil ransfer between the reservoir and the receiving chamber, the free end zone of the upper section carrying a compressible spring exposed within the reservoir, said lower section having a spring-supported ball within its intermediate zone, said ball being cooperative with a recess carried by a spline of the upper section for mounting the column in normal steering position, said ball being dislodgable from its seat in presence of a light blow applied to the top of 5 the steering column, thereby constituting the first stage; said reservoir, restricted openings, and receiving chamber forming the operative structure of a hydraulic shock absorbing mechanism and constituting the intermediate stage, being adapted to be rendered active in response to displacement of the ball of the first stage; the third stage being constituted by the spring carried by the free end of the upper section and its cooperation with the closed end of the reservoir, said spring being normally inactive Within the reservoir and when rendered active being operative to additionally retard the rate of yielding movement within the approach to the remote end of the range of movement.

2. A steering column as in dlaim 1 characterized in that the ball-receiving recess of the steering column spline forming the normal column positioning means during steering is of a depth less than half the diameter of the ball, said spline having a second recess of greater depth than such half diameter .and operative to prevent complete withdrawal of the column when the latter is being re-positioned.

HAROLD V. SNYDER.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 912,215 Warren Feb. 9, 1909 1,503,881 Bros Aug. 5, 1924 2,028,953 Roark Jan. 28, 1936 2,075,110 Gametso-n Mar. 30, 1937 2,140,319 Heppner et al. Dec. 13, 1939 2,227,821 Burrell Jan. 7, 1941 2,254,640 Baker Sept. 2, 1941 2,263,284 Beecher Nov. 18, 1941 2,369,007 Beecher Feb. 6, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 698,526 Germany Nov. 12, 1940 484,978 Gneat Britain May 12, 1938 

